Roger Ashton-Griffiths, who portrayed Lord Mace Tyrell in Game of Thrones, recently made a rather grand exit from the show, along with many of the Tyrell family. ComiConverse caught up with Roger Ashton-Griffiths to talk about Season 6 of Game of Thrones and his experiences on the show.

Game Of Thrones: An Interview With Roger Ashton-Griffiths

Credit: HBO's Game of Thrones

ComiConverse: Hi Roger, or should we say Dr. Ashton-Griffiths! Thanks so much for making time for us and congratulations on your recent Ph.D. You have been on stage in the Opera, you've written and directed productions, you've starred in major television projects like The Tudors and Doctor Who, you've worked with Directors like Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese.

Where do your experiences in Game of Thrones rank in that expansive a career?

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Roger:There is a sense in which each job an actor undertakes is like every other (it's a requirement for the acquisition of a body of experience). The details vary, of course, depending on things like budget, location, colleagues and so on, but the basics of learning lines, wearing costumes and forming a character remain broadly the same. On the one hand, therefore, being in Game of Thrones is like being in anything else. But on the other, the locations, writing, costumes, cast and crew are all absolutely first rate, without exception, and it is this unique combination of resource, intention and ability which makes Game of Thrones stand apart from other productions I have known.

ComiConverse: When D. B. Weiss and David Benioff informed you that they wanted you for the part of Mace Tyrell, had you been following either the George R R Martin books or the HBO show closely, or did you arrive to the part from more of a distance?

Roger:Lol, more of a distance!

I'd heard of the show, of course, but had never seen it, nor read any of the books. When I auditioned, I mixed up Tyrion and Tywin's names in the trial scenes...